Think. Discuss. Act.

Think. Discuss. Act.

Think. Discuss. Act. Abortion

Abortion Resources

With controversial issues such as abortion, CYS tries to provide a range of resources from both sides of the debate as well as those that take a balanced perspective on the issue. Notes have been provided to indicate the general position of each resource, but we urge you to consider some from a different perspective than your own. We hope to promote dialogue and consideration of various points of view–to provide helpful and productive conversation rather than polarization.

Organizations and Websites

Abortion Care Network – A leader in the movement to de-stigmatize and normalize the abortion experience while offering support and training to the abortion care community. A pro-choice organization.

Abortion Changes You – This confidential space is for those who are touched by abortion, whether the experience happened recently or years ago. Abortion Changes You is a refuge for those who wish to tell their story and begin the process of healing. See also their Resource page.

Care Net – A nation-wide network of pregnancy centers and a call center for decision coaching for pregnancy decisions. Care Net is a Christian organization.

National Abortion Federation – A strongly pro-choice organization and a professional association for abortion practitioners. Offers information on abortion, clinic violence, and pro-choice views on related issues.

National Right to Life – The nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization and the recognized flag-ship of the pro-life movement.

Ramah International – A non-profit ministry designed to outline post-abortion sydrome internationally by offering hope of healing to those who had an abortion, minister to those in a crisis pregnancy situation, and educate, equip and encourage those working with post-abortion and crisis pregnancy cases.

1 in 3 Campaign – An organization hoping to remove some of the stigma of abortion through the sharing of stories. “As we share our stories we begin to build a culture of compassion, empathy, and support for access to basic health care. It’s time for us to come out in support of each other and in support of access to legal and safe abortion care in our communities.”

Charles C. Camosy (2015). Beyond the Abortion Wars: A Way Forward for a New Generation. Eerdmans. 221 pp. – The author argues that the polarizing debate over abortion limits an ability for fruitful dialogue–and that most Americans actually agree on what’s at stake in abortion morality and law. He argues for a new public policy which supports the best ideas and arguments from both sides of the abortion debate, in which we can choose both mothers and their fetal children.

Candace De Puy & Dana Donitch (1997). The Healing Choice: Your Guide to Emotional Recovery after an Abortion. Touchstone. 240 pp. – A step-by-step program and supportive guide offered by two psychotherapists for coping with the emotional and psychological effects of abortion. The authors say “This is a book for any woman who feels psychological pain from her abortion … this in not a book about judgment, politics, or religion.”

Brain E. Fisher (2014). Abortion: The Ultimate Exploitation of Women. Morgan James. 200pp. – The author argues that abortion is not simply a “women’s issue.” He reports that “the original author of the Equal Rights Amendment, feminist Alice Paul, called abortion the ‘ultimate exploitation of women.'” An argument exploring ways abortion can be used to advance male agendas.

Michaelene Fredenburg (2008). Changed: Making Sense of Your Own or Your Loved One’s Abortion Experience. New York: Perspectives – Many men, women, grandparents, siblings, other family members and friends are seeking to make sense of their own or a loved one’s abortion experience. Whether you have personally experienced abortion, someone close to you has, or you are seeking to sensitively and compassionately communicate with others about abortion- this book is a safe place to begin. Changed provides a place that is set apart from politics, from labels, from debate. It seeks to convey the real experiences of real people and offers interactive suggestions to begin the healing process.

Craig C. Malbon (2013). Abortion in 21st Century America. CreateSpace Independent Publishing. 277 pp. – “Although the battle lines between the Pro-Life and Pro-Choice camps have been drawn and fortified by good people on both sides, the author challenges all comers to enter into the thick of the abortion question . . . to the increased and sometimes unbearable tension of finding the voice of the ‘other’ in our own selves.”

Bertha Alvarez Manninen (2014). Pro-Life, Pro-Choice: Shared Values in the Abortion Debate. Vanderbilt University Press. 240 pp. – “In this provocative and accessible book, the author defends a pro-choice perspective but also takes seriously pro-life concerns about the moral value of the human fetus.” An approach to the abortion controversy from a variety of perspectives and ethical frameworks.

Frederica Matthews-Greene (2013, 1997). Real Choices: Listening to Women Looking for Alternatives to Abortion. 3rd ed. Conciliar Press. – This author attempts a positive approach to the deadlocked debate in helping mothers and babies with compassionate and realistic options. “This book examines resources and difficulties, and lets women who have had abortions talk about their reasons, and what could have made it possible to consider other choices.”

Katha Pollitt (2014). Pro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights. Picador. 272 pp. – A recent controversial argument for abortion as a moral right and social good from a strongly feminist pro-choice position.

R.C. Sproul & Greg Bailey (2010). Abortion: A Rational Look at an Emotional Issue. Reformation Trust Publishing. 215 pp. – A book from a Christian and pro-life position, with a systematic philosophical and theological examination of both sides of the issue.